Music Lesson: Exploring Repeated Notes

Right, cool. So in this lesson, we're going to look at those kinds of repeated notes that, you know, most piano players kind of do. Definitely a real Johnny Johnson kind of thing to do.

Key Techniques

• Objective: Try to get that sound as fast, rhythmical, and aggressive as possible.
• Wrist Position: Keep your wrist as loose as possible while playing.

Notes to Use

The notes I'm using essentially are:

• D
• F
• G (you could use this note, but the F adds a bit of bite)

Approaching the Notes

• Approach it with a run-up:
  • Maybe start with the octave G at the top
  • Consider adding an E as well
• You could add a little grace note going up.

Common Patterns

Often, there will be those sort of repeated notes followed by a roll all the way up here.

• Roll Technique:
  • The roll is just from the flat five down, sliding off.
  • You could start from the octave and then move about a bit for some fun.

Stylistic Choices

• Rather than playing two notes, use one note combined with the others.
• These repeated notes can feel out of time; you know they're not exactly lined up with the tempo.

Practice Techniques

• Just practice doing those repeated notes.
• Try to get them as fast as possible; it always sounds more impressive.

Reference Track

Johnny Johnson can do these things really quickly. He also has a fun style showcased in "Wee Wee Hours."

• Recommendation:
  • Check out that track, by the way (the Chuck Berry track).
  • It's a great track, and his piano playing on it is just awesome.

Specific Techniques to Note

• He does repeated notes in octaves at the top.
• On the G minor 6 chord, it's like a C9 chord.
• He plays this voicing, and it works really well.

Unique Approaches

He has another hip repeated note technique where he goes between them, which I've never heard anyone else do.

• Application:
  • You can use this on the five as well or something similar.

These fast repeated notes appear all over the place in the styles of various piano players.

Final Thoughts

Something I use quite a lot is going to the diminished voicing that we looked at earlier on.

• Get stuck into those repeated notes.
• Don't worry about being super aggressive about them.

Example Breakdown

For example, in that breakdown I did:

• Here we go: 3, 4 (that kind of thing).
• Have a play around again, and look at it in different keys:
  • In the key of A, for instance,
  • Back to the key of G, outlining the C harmony on the C chord, which gives it another lift when you're playing.

So, yeah, I think we covered repeated notes quite well. There will be all sorts of things I know that you'll be able to think of and do your own thing with.

Next Steps

Let's move on to something else!